Family Ties
by youmeandthehurricane
Summary: Someone new comes into Maxwell Lord's life and turns it upside down. Family has always been a sore point for him, but now he has to re-learn what that means with a little help from Alex Danvers.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

There are some moments in life that are so staggering, so life changing in one way or another, that you will always remember them in perfect detail. Where you were when it happened or what the weather was like. What the time was or what you'd eaten for breakfast that morning. Maxwell Lord, sitting alone at his kitchen table eating bacon and eggs, was completely unaware that one of these moments was rapidly approaching him.

It had been a busy week for Max. Lord Technologies was on the brink of developing a new form of x-ray that emitted lower levels of radiation. It was safer and healthier and was going to change the face of medicine. His invention had sprung from his experiments with Kryptonite. At least something good had come out of that mess.

The DEO still watched him like a hawk. Even after everything he'd done to help in the battle against Non, they still didn't trust him. Maybe they were wise not to, given what Major Lane had entrusted him with. He hadn't quite decided what to do with his new toy just yet, but no doubt he would come up with a great idea sooner or later.

His mind had just started to drift towards the plans that still had to be finalised for the new x-ray machine when a knock at the door broke into his thoughts. He let his fork drop to the plate with a clatter, wiped his mouth with a napkin and swallowed the last of his bacon as he rose to answer the door. The knock came again, louder this time, as Max strolled out of his lavish dining room and down the richly carpeted hall.

Max's house was huge, immaculate and well furnished. The cleaners he employed kept it spotless though he never made much mess. In truth, he barely spent much time in the house at all. It was mostly for show, because he could, that Max had a big house. He had no real desire to spend more time than was necessary in the pervading silence, the ever-apparent emptiness.

Finally he reached the front door, a large wooden affair with a brass knocker. The classy kind. He opened it a fraction, peeking out to see who it was. Max didn't often get visitors, let alone at this time of the morning.

'Are you Maxwell Lord?' A gruff voice asked as the door creaked open. Max was surprised to find a burly man in a police officer's uniform standing on his doorstep. He had greying hair and a moustache and, judging by the badge on his chest, was a high ranking officer.

'The one and only. What can I do for you officer?' Max replied in his politest tone. He'd learned recently that it was best to start on the right foot when it came to the authorities. Getting thrown in a cell taught you a few things.

'Mr Lord, I'm afraid there's been an incident that concerns you, but the matter is quite…delicate. It's been requested that you accompany me back to the station as there are a few things that need to be explained.'

Max raised an eyebrow. He noticed the uncomfortable manner in which the officer addressed him, but couldn't fathom what could be so "delicate" a matter that he had to go down to the station before being clued in. The officer waited for Max's reply, fiddling with his belt. Was it just Max's celebrity status that was making the man fidgety?

'Sure,' Max shrugged eventually. 'Just give me one minute.'

The officer nodded understandingly, stepping away from the door as Max went in search of his keys and wallet. Once his essentials were safely tucked away in his pockets he ensured the house was securely locked, his elaborate security system blinking on, and then joined the officer in his squad car.

'The name's Martin by the way,' the man said from the front seat as Max climbed into the back.

'What's this about?' Max asked. 'Is it to do with my company because I assure you, we are completely licensed to-'

'No Mr Lord, it's not your company,' Martin interrupted. 'It's…well, I think it's best you wait till we get there.'

They spent the rest of the drive in silence. Max watched the streets of National City flash by, thinking idly about how close they had come to annihilation only a month ago. Pride and relief that he'd had a reasonable part in preventing Non's attack sat comfortably in the back of his mind and the sight of the city, his city, brought that to the surface.

The car soon pulled into the underground carpark of the NCPD, eradicating Max's view of the skyline. Martin escorted Max up to the fourth floor of the building where he was greeted by a rather plain-looking gentleman in a suit who introduced himself as Mooney. Max assumed it was his last name since he wasn't offered any other details.

'Mr Lord,' Mooney greeted him kindly, 'if you'll just step this way please.'

Max followed the man down the hall and into a room where three important looking men were seated at a table. Mooney shut the door behind them as they entered and Max noticed, with some hesitation, that Martin stayed posted outside the door.

'Have a seat Mr Lord.' A rather rotund and red-faced man gestured to the empty seat next to Mooney. Max sat down slowly, trying to look innocent. He hadn't done anything that would be considered slightly illegal lately had he? Nothing came to mind when he racked his brains. He'd been trying not to do anything that Alex and the DEO wouldn't approve of, partly because he was fed up of being in that cell and partly because he thought that Alex might appreciate his efforts. He'd given Supergirl a bit of a pep talk during the Non incident, but whether or not she'd believed that he was being honest wasn't up to him.

'Mr Lord, my name is Andrew Phillips.' The man directly opposite him leaned forward, bringing Max back to the present. He was a large man, probably in his sixties, balding and grey but nonetheless imposing. _Ex-military,_ Max thought. 'I look after special interest and high security cases here at the NCPD. We received a case four days ago that concerns you. I just want to warn you that all of this may come as quite a shock.'

'All of what, may I ask?' Max's voice contained a hint of impatience now. It was rare that Max got nervous, but the serious looks on the faces surrounding him left him feeling anxious. Not to mention the fact that no one had even hinted to him what this was about yet. Had the police found out about Bizarro?

Mooney opened a file that sat in front of him on the desk, pulling out a photograph and placing it before Max.

'Do you recognise this woman?' He asked.

Max studied the photo carefully. It was of a blonde woman sitting on a park bench. She was smiling at the camera, a book held in her lap. She was reasonably pretty, her eyes crinkling happily. Max thought she was probably in her early thirties.

'No,' Max answered after a minute. 'Should I?'

The men looked at each other with something close to disapproval.

'Her name is Eleanor Williams,' Phillips told him. 'She died in a car crash four days ago. I believe you knew her about ten years ago as Ellie.'

Max looked back at the photo blankly, rolling the name around his head until something clicked, leaving him feeling like he'd been drenched in ice cold water. He thought he'd left that part of his life behind.

When he had been in his mid-twenties, Max had been riding the high of his newly acquired wealth. Lord Technologies had made him a billionaire for the first time and everyone he met treated him like a celebrity. He began to fill the hole that his parents' deaths had left inside him with alcohol and out of control parties, throwing his money around like it was nobody's business. Throughout this period, he'd had a number of short lived affairs with beautiful women who were only too happy to accompany the handsome tech billionaire to his bedroom. Only a few years later, Max had regretted his behaviour and his past embarrassed him even now. None of what he'd done had made him feel whole again and he'd briefly wondered if the women he'd slept with had been using him as much as he had thought he was using them.

Recognition slowly dawned on his face. Ellie had been just one of the girls he'd slept with, a one night stand. He'd never seen her again after that, but he remembered her because she'd given him a bruise on the inside of his thigh that had made walking uncomfortable for days. That wasn't something one tended to forget in a hurry.

The memory suddenly felt highly inappropriate to Max as he connected what Phillips had said about the woman to the photograph. She was dead. Killed in a car crash only four days ago.

'What does this have to do with me?' Max swallowed. He felt like he'd repeated the question enough times now. Wouldn't someone just tell him straight out what the hell was going on?

Phillips clasped his hands on the desk as if he was bracing himself. 'Mr Lord, Ms Williams died in a car crash and left behind her nine year old daughter. Legalities regarding the girl got underway quickly because of her age. In Ms Williams' Last Will and Testament, she states that the child's father is Maxwell Lord and requests that she is to be left in your care in the event of Ms Williams' death as her grandparents passed away a couple of years ago.'

Max felt like a hole had opened up in the floor beneath him. He thought he was going to be sick or pass out or both. Blood pounded in his ears as Phillips' words bounced around his head, echoing tauntingly. He let out a nervous, disbelieving chuckle, but stopped quickly when he heard how hollow it sounded. His face went blank.

'Mr Lord?' Max didn't even hear Phillips' concerned voice. He was too busy flying back in time to the night he'd shared with Eleanor Williams. How could this even be possible? Max had always been so careful, so prepared when it came to contraception. He might have been drunk and off the rails, but that had never made him stupid. Could it be possible that he'd slipped up that night? Why hadn't he found out years ago that he was a father if that was the case? This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be a father.

'Mr Lord, are you alright?' Mooney grasped his arm gently as a glass of water was placed in front of him. He felt for it blindly, lifting it to his lips only to put it back down again without taking a sip.

'How?' Max choked eventually.

'We're still confirming the details,' Phillips continued cautiously, 'but from what we've gathered it appears that Ms Williams was in a relationship at the time of your…meeting. Ms Williams informed her partner that the baby was not his halfway through her pregnancy and, when she refused to tell him whose it was, he left her. Ms Williams raised the child on her own. There was a note among the contents of her Will that intimated that she didn't think you would be a positive influence in her daughter's life.'

Max felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Repeatedly.

'I can't…I can't have a _kid,_ ' he whispered, fighting to control his breathing. Max knew nothing about having a family or how to be a father. He'd barely had enough time to get to know his father before his parents were ripped away from him. It was this thought that restored some calm and gave him a bit of clarity. There was a nine year old girl who had just lost her mother and he, her father, was all that she had now. Could he look himself in the eye every morning if he let this little girl grow up as lonely and abandoned as he had been?

He dragged his hands through his hair and buried his face in them, taking comfort in the sudden darkness. 'Could you give me a minute?' He mumbled.

'Of course.' Max heard the scrape of chairs being pushed back and the shuffle of feet as the men left the room. Silence enveloped him. He kept his palms pressed against his eyes and tried to keep his breathing even.

 _Ok, calm down,_ he thought. He had a daughter. Her mother was dead and now he had been tasked with looking after a little girl that he didn't know. It couldn't be that hard, right? It's not like he was useless around kids. He wondered what she looked like, what her name was. Did she look like him?

Max stood up abruptly and strode over to the door, flinging it open. Phillips started when Max poked his head out and took a deep breath.

'Mr Phillips,' Max said seriously, 'I want to…can I meet her? My…my daughter?' That was going to take a lot of getting used to.

'Of course Mr Lord, we'll arrange a meeting as soon as possible.' Phillips nodded at him and began to walk away, leaving Max in the care of Mooney.

'Mr Phillips?' Max called. 'What's her name?'

'It's Piper, Mr Lord. Piper Williams.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Max paced up and down the corridor nervously. He couldn't keep his hands still. First he'd rub the side of his jaw and then he'd check his watch. He'd shove both hands in his pockets and then take them out again. He was waiting for Mr Phillips to emerge from behind the closed door that separated Max from his nine year old daughter.

Max was terrified. What the hell would he even say to her? _Hey kid, sorry I haven't been around. Kind of didn't even know you existed!_ Max almost bashed his head against the wall when those thoughts entered his mind.

The door opened and Max jumped. 'You can come in now Mr Lord.' Mr Phillips let Max step past him into the room, closed the door and returned to his seat, but Max was frozen in place. The little girl that was sitting on a chair across from Mr Phillips looked so much like her mother. Her blonde hair was cut short and she was wearing dark jeans and a red jacket. She looked up at him with sad green eyes. His eyes.

'Mr Lord, why don't you come and sit down?' Phillips watched as Max stumbled over to the chair that completed their little triangle and then continued with kindness in his voice. 'Piper, this is Max. He's your father. Your mother wanted you to meet him. I'm going to let you two talk now, but I'm going to stay right outside that door so you just call if you need me. Is that alright?'

Piper nodded without a word. Phillips gave Max a stern look as he rose and left the room. The door clicked shut softly and the silence felt awful to Max. Piper stared at him forlornly.

'Hi,' Max breathed eventually. 'It's…it's Piper, right?'

She just nodded.

'How old are you Piper?'

'Nine.' Her voice was so sad it nearly broke Max's heart. He briefly wondered if he'd sounded like that when his parents had died.

'Wow.' Max took a deep breath and looked around the room. This was a lot harder than he'd anticipated. 'Look, I know that…you're probably really scared right now and I know you miss your mother and I haven't been there for you, but I am now. Ok? We can work things out and you're not going to be alone. And you can call me Dad or you can call me Max, I don't mind. It's up to you.' The words came pouring out. They were all the things that Max wished someone had said to him. 'Your…your mother wanted me to look after you. Is that ok?'

Piper looked him up and down. Max felt suddenly self-conscious. It was amazing, the way children could make you feel guilty about yourself when you couldn't care less about what adults thought. Eventually Piper nodded, eliciting a relieved sigh to escape from Max.

'Great,' Max said. 'I just have to see Mr Phillips for a minute and then we can go home. I mean, to my house. Ok?'

'Ok.'

Max gave Piper a reassuring smile, but she didn't return it. Could you have déjà vu when you were on the other side of things? He left the room to find Mr Phillips and they spent the next hour finalising the paperwork for the custody of Piper, but his mind kept straying to the sad little girl in the room down the hall. There was no way in hell that Max was going to let this kid become an orphan.

* * *

Piper watched out of the car window as Max's house came into view. She was scared and sad and just wanted to go home. All the same, her mouth dropped open when she saw Max's house. It was huge! Like a mansion! She craned her neck trying to see the top of the roof as the car pulled up just outside the front door. She was still staring when Max opened the car door for her and lifted her bags out of the boot. He chuckled at the amazement on her face.

'Do you like it?' Max asked.

'It's so big,' Piper replied quietly.

'You get to pick which bedroom you want. How's that sound?' Piper could only gawk at him. Max laughed and steered her inside. 'I tell you what, how about I just leave your bags here while you go and explore, then when you pick which room you want we can take them up.'

'Ok.' Piper shuffled from foot to foot before dashing out of the hall and into the first room on the left.

Max could hear her tramping around the house for the next hour, exploring all the nooks and crannies. He was pretty sure he heard her run up and down the main stairs three times in a row. It was a big staircase in her defence. Max sat at his kitchen table nursing a glass of wine whilst Piper got to know her new home. He was trying to quell the panic about all the things he had to do now that he was a father. He'd never thought of having kids before, but maybe that was because he'd never met anyone worth having them with.

Eventually Piper managed to find her way back to Max.

'I know which one,' she murmured so that Max had to lean forward to hear her.

'Lead the way,' Max replied, gathering up her bags and following her up the stairs. He was surprised that she found the room again without getting lost. The one she'd picked was at the back of the house with a window that overlooked a sprawling lawn surrounded by trees. The room itself contained a king size bed, a chest of drawers and an empty bookshelf. The carpet was thick and soft under their feet.

'This one,' Piper said with a note of surety in her voice.

'Ok. This one it is.'

Max helped her unpack. He folded her clothes and put them in the drawers while she arranged books and toys on the shelf. He watched her surreptitiously. There was a small frown on her face and deep sadness in her eyes. She was placing the books with care as if it was the most important thing in the world. Max thought it probably was right at this moment. It was such a small thing, organising her books, but it was something that Piper could control. Everything else in her life had completely imploded, but the order of her books on her bookshelf? That was all up to her.

Max looked at his shoes. Painful memories were floating through his brain. He'd read an entire chemistry textbook the day after his parents had died because science was to him what organising those books was to Piper. Science was eternal; it was factual, valid and reliable. It would not change. Max knew, with a horrible wrench of his gut, that the books on Piper's shelf would stay in that order forever.

'Hey, Piper?' Max called softly. She turned to look at him with those big green eyes, silent and forlorn. He had to cough before he could go on, his throat tight. 'I was thinking…maybe we could have pancakes or something for dinner tonight? Or ice cream. What do you think? Unless you like filet mignon, of course.' He tried to smile, but it wouldn't come.

'I like pancakes,' Piper replied without much enthusiasm.

'Ok. Pancakes it is.'

They finished unpacking and Max showed Piper where the bathroom was. He was suddenly struck by the thought that he had no idea what utilities nine year old girls needed for the bathroom. Actually, he had no idea what nine year old girls needed for anything. _Jesus Christ_ , he thought, _what the hell am I doing?_

He managed to keep it together for the rest of the night. Piper sat at the bench and watched as Max made pancakes. It was mundane and familiar to her and she seemed a bit calmer than before. Max was relieved when he got the smallest of small smiles from her when he asked if the pancakes were good.

'Max…' Piper's soft voice floated across the kitchen like a flower caught in the breeze. Max had been in the process of dumping the dishes in the sink, but he froze at the sound of his name coming out of his daughter's mouth. It felt like he'd been electrocuted.

'Yeah?' He replied, resorting to the suave tone he usually reserved for the agents at the DEO and mentally shook himself when he realised how he sounded. He did _not_ have to go on the defensive with Piper just because she'd used his name. In fact, that was a good sign. His heart thumped in his chest regardless.

'I…I usually watch…um, I watch a movie before bedtime.' Piper's eyes darted around and Max stared at her as if waiting for more details and then started when he realised none were forthcoming.

'Right. Yeah. Of course. Uh…I've got Netflix? You can pick one from there, how's that?'

Piper nodded and slid off her chair. Her fingers twisted around themselves as she fidgeted. Max left the dishes where they were and took her into the lounge room. He told Piper to sit on the comfiest spot she could find on the huge couch while he turned on the TV and brought up Netflix.

They scrolled through the kids section until Piper said, 'That one.' She'd chosen Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast. Max had absolutely no idea what the hell a Neverbeast was, nor did he have any desire to find out, but that didn't matter. Piper wanted to watch it and that was what mattered. So he put it on and sat on the other end of the couch, giving her some space. Since the movie held absolutely no interest for him, he found himself watching her instead. Her eyes reflected the lights from the television as she lost herself in Tinkerbell's plight. _How very appropriate_ , Max thought dryly. _Neverland._ Even Maxwell Lord had read Peter Pan when he was younger. Pushing the terrible irony aside, Max focused on the innocence in her face. Piper clearly loved this movie because for the first time since he'd met her, Max thought she looked peaceful. Escapism wasn't supposed to apply to children, but that was exactly what Max was watching and it hurt because it was like he was watching himself from all those years ago. Just replace the screen with a textbook.

Eventually he tore his eyes away from his daughter and forced himself to watch the rest of the movie. It certainly didn't do anything for him, but it allowed his mind to wander for a while. When the credits finally rolled, he heard Piper yawn.

'Time to go to bed?'

Piper nodded. The sadness had reappeared. Max walked with her upstairs and waited outside while she changed into her pyjamas. When he entered her bedroom, Piper was tucked under the covers already, lying on her side and staring at something clutched in her hand.

'What's that?' Max asked, sitting down on the side of the bed.

'It's my mum,' Piper said, holding out a small hand to show Max what she was holding. Max's breath caught in his throat as he took a crumpled photograph from her gently. Eleanor Williams stared back at him from the picture, a reminder of how much Piper looked like her mother.

Max had no idea what to say to Piper. He knew there was nothing he could say that would make that pain go away and he'd hated it when people had told him that everything was going to be alright because it wasn't. So he placed the photo back into Piper's hand and curled her fingers closed around it instead.

'My room is just down the hall,' he choked out eventually. 'If you need anything, you come and get me ok? Anything at all.' Piper nodded again. God, he wished she'd just say ok. He just wanted to hear her say something. 'Goodnight Piper.'

Max patted Piper on the shoulder, too afraid to do anything else, and then headed towards the door.

'Max?' Piper called.

'Yeah?' Max whipped around immediately.

'I liked the pancakes.'

'I'm glad,' he replied with a small grin. 'Goodnight Piper.'

Max shut the door and sat down against the wall just outside Piper's room. He covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath. Being a father was not rocket science. No, rocket science was something Max knew he could do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Over the course of the next week, Max discovered that having a daughter was difficult, but rewarding. Piper returned to school on the third day and Max ended up having to give her some money for lunch because the thought of making her lunch hadn't even crossed his mind. Dinner was also interesting. He quickly found out that nine year olds don't really enjoy steaks medium rare. Nor will they tolerate braised duck. It wasn't that Max didn't enjoy a cheeseburger as much as the next guy, it was just that he wasn't used to having to cater for somebody else.

He was meticulous about picking Piper up from school though. There were three alarms set on his phone to make sure that he wasn't late. It had been a bit awkward meeting her teacher on the first day, since he couldn't really answer any of her questions about how Piper was coping. Max barely knew her after all.

The biggest change for Max was the noise. His house had always been silent; the only sounds came from him and whatever he was doing. He'd always hated the emptiness and now the presence of someone else in his house was strangely comforting. Once or twice he'd heard Piper thumping down the stairs and momentarily thought that someone had broken in before he'd remembered. Other times, the noise of the television would float through the house into his study and it would distract him from his work, but it didn't irritate him. It actually made him feel more at home than ever.

And so Max and Piper stumbled their way through the first week of living as father and daughter. Piper was still quiet and sad. Max still had no idea what he was doing. But it all seemed ok. Life kept moving forward.

Max woke up on Sunday with an idea forming in his sleepy brain. He thought he might take Piper to Lord Technologies and show her around. She knew as little about him as he did about her and Max thought that going out might distract her from whatever was going on behind those miserable eyes. They had breakfast together and then bundled themselves into Max's Mercedes.

Piper watched out the window with wide eyes as the skyscrapers of National City flashed by. She had so many questions about this place. Which one was the tallest building? What was CatCo? What did the letters in KPJT News stand for? All of these questions and more whizzed around her head, but she didn't voice them out loud. Two weeks ago she would have pestered her mother with them, but now she didn't really feel like it.

Her eyes grew even wider if that was possible when they pulled up at the front of the Lord Technologies main building. It was massive, made mostly of glass with two tall towers on either side of the huge entrance hall. A big, curved sheet of glass stuck out like a baseball cap above the front door.

'Well Piper, this is my building. I'm the boss of all of it. What do you think?' Max said proudly as helped her out of the car.

'It's _huge_ ,' Piper exclaimed, clearly impressed. Max couldn't help but grin. Even a nine year old thought he was impressive.

'Come and see inside.'

Piper nodded eagerly and took Max's hand as they started towards the entrance. The contact made Max jump and he almost pulled away before he realised what had happened. He looked down at his hand to find Piper's fingers gripping his own. She walked on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, fixated on the building that loomed ahead, but it wasn't nothing to Max. It almost made his heart stop.

They'd barely taken three steps into the reception area when a slim lady with long black hair came sauntering up to them.

'Mr Lord,' she purred, 'will you be in the office today?'

'No, Paulina, not today. I'm showing Piper around. Piper, this is my secretary, Paulina.' Max avoided the use of the word 'daughter' for reasons he didn't quite understand.

'Hey there sweetie,' Paulina smiled at Piper, but the gesture was not returned. 'I'll leave you to it then.'

Max nodded as she walked away. He briefly wondered if she had kids.

'What do you do here?' Piper asked suddenly.

'Science,' Max exclaimed with a dramatic wave of his hand. 'I invent things that will make National City better. Technology that will improve the lives of everyone that lives here.'

'Like what?'

'Did you ever hear about the bullet train that was going to be launched in National City?' Piper nodded eagerly. 'That was my train.'

'No way!'

Max took immense pleasure in the joy on Piper's face. He lead her through the building, stopping to show her his office, his lab and some of the projects his team was working on. At first Piper just followed along with interest, but after seeing the laser cutter that Max was developing to assist firemen with rescues she couldn't hold her questions in any longer. For the first time in two weeks, she felt like she just needed to be herself.

The questions flooded out of her and Piper didn't think she could stop. As soon as one had left her mouth, another was already itching on the tip of her tongue. She listened intently to Max's explanations of his inventions even though she didn't really understand a lot of it. It was all so cool!

Max found it difficult to explain his research in a way that was suitable for a nine year old, but he kept trying because he was secretly thrilled that Piper was so keen about his work. It was a side of her that he hadn't seen yet and it made him feel so much more comfortable with her. It helped that he loved the opportunity to boast about his scientific endeavours. No one ever really wanted to listen to him that much about his work in day to day conversations. Even the DEO scientists had been too busy glaring at him with disapproval to appreciate his genius. Piper, however, hung on his every word.

'You must be really smart,' Piper commented after they'd returned to Max's office for a drink.

'I am,' Max replied mischievously. 'I'm a genius.'

Piper giggled. 'Can you teach me?'

Max was slightly taken aback. 'Teach you what?'

'Science.'

Piper leaned forward eagerly in her chair, but Max was lost for words. His daughter wanted him to teach her about science. His head whirled. Where would he even start? Science was his fallback, his one true love, his safety net. And Piper wanted him to share that with her.

'I'll teach you everything,' Max promised solemnly, making Piper clap her hands together once in a rare moment of glee.

* * *

Max stopped at the bookstore on the way home from Lord Technologies and bought every book on science for kids that he could find. Piper's mouth dropped open when he returned to the car with three boxes of books.

'Those are for me?' She asked incredulously.

'The ones in my house are a bit big for you at the moment,' Max replied, 'so we'll start with these.'

Piper couldn't believe it. She flicked through the books one by one as they trundled through the streets of National City. There was everything from what an element was to what blood was made of to why humans can't breathe in space. She was going to learn it all. She was going to be as smart as Max was.

She looked across at her father as the car pulled into the driveway of Max's house. In all her nine years, her mother had never mentioned him. Not once. Piper had asked, but all she'd gotten in reply was, 'He doesn't matter. What matters is us.' She'd often wondered whether her dad had done something terrible or whether they'd just had a fight. Looking at him now though, she thought he was pretty cool.

* * *

Such is the way of things that good moods rarely last long and in the case of a nine year old girl who's just lost her mother, good moods are unlikely to last very long at all. The day after her visit to Lord Technologies, Piper's heart ached. It was like someone was squeezing her so tightly that it hurt. She lay on her bed and stared at the photograph of her mother that Max had framed for her.

'Why did you have to leave?' Piper whispered, tears falling down her face. The longer she focused on the picture, the more it hurt. The room tilted and spun. Her vision was blurry from crying. She missed her mother's voice when she called her downstairs for breakfast. She missed giving her a hug goodnight and the kiss on the forehead that her mother would unfailingly give her. She missed telling her mother about all the things she'd done at school that day. Everything kept piling up in Piper's mind until she was mad with grief. She picked up the book that lay forgotten on the end of her bed and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thud, leaving a mark, and dropped to the floor.

Piper jumped out of bed and ran to the closet, sliding open the door and throwing herself inside. Darkness enveloped her as she closed the door and sunk to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees and crying uncontrollably. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted her mum back.

* * *

Max was in his study looking over some papers when he heard a noise from upstairs. He started, but then relaxed quickly. _It's just Piper,_ he thought. He listened out for her footsteps, thinking that she was on her way downstairs to ask what was for dinner or what made balloons float. She'd asked so many questions of him last night that his head swam. Her keenness had made him strangely happy. It had given Max a purpose of sorts, something internal and personal to focus on. Most of his life had been spent flaunting his brains for the benefit of the people of National City and that's what he enjoyed doing, but this was something different. This wasn't about showing off, it was about sharing something in common with someone who was closer to him than anybody had ever been before.

When Piper didn't appear to quiz him about the weather on Mars, Max wandered out of the study to see what she was doing. He was bored of reading those designs anyway. His footsteps echoed around the stairwell as he climbed, but there were no sounds coming from Piper's room. When he finally reached her doorway, he was surprised to find it empty. Glancing around, his eyes fell on the book that was lying open on the floor. Two of its pages were bent where it had been thrown.

Max bent down to pick it up, but then froze as his ears registered a noise coming from the closet. It was the unmistakable sharp, high-pitched intake of breath that punctuates sobbing.

'Piper?' Max called uncertainly, hurrying to the closet door and pulling it open. 'Oh no.'

His heart sank like a stone when he registered the dishevelled, tear stained little girl curled up into a defensive ball at the bottom of the closet. He dropped to his knees and crawled in to sit next to her, gathering her up in a hug that she didn't resist.

'I w-want my mum,' Piper wailed into his chest. 'I want…to go…home. I want…my mum!'

'I know,' Max murmured, stroking Piper's hair. 'I know.'

What else could he say? Max had never felt so powerless. It was a kick in the guts for him because he'd thought they'd made so much progress. Piper had started talking more. She'd even smiled. And now she'd broken down and Max had no idea what to do to make her feel better. He doubted there was anything he could do. Nothing had ever made him feel better.

Max cradled Piper until she cried herself to sleep. He carried her back to bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. A terrible sigh escaped from his lips as he wiped a hand across his face and left it there, blocking everything out. Nobody had prepared him for this, the ups and downs. Nobody had prepared him for any of this. He was floundering helplessly and he was on his own. He was always on his own.


	4. Chapter 4

**NB: Thank you for all the positive comments I've received so far and for your patience as you wait for Alex to show up. This is the one - a wild Alex Danvers appears!**

 **Chapter 4**

Max took Piper to school the next morning feeling like he was walking on egg shells. There was no telling whether she was ok or whether something small would set her off. He gave her a hug before she walked away to her classroom and she returned it. As milestones go, Max thought that was a pretty good one.

His mind was wandering on the drive home so he didn't register the black car that was waiting in his driveway until he pulled up behind it. Eyes narrowing, Max got out of his Mercedes cautiously. The car's windows were tinted and the license plate was ambiguous, giving no clue as to its owner.

The driver's door opened and Alex Danvers got out. It was a bizarre feeling for Max. His life had changed so much that the DEO had been miles away from his thoughts. Seeing Alex felt like crashing back to reality, like someone had pierced the bubble that he'd been living in. It made him uneasy.

'Agent Danvers,' Max said, 'this is unexpected.'

'Yeah, well, it's not something I'd scheduled in my calendar either Max.' Good old Alex. Never pleased to see him.

'So what have I done now?' Max asked.

'Surprisingly nothing. Actually, I've been sent to escort you back to the DEO. Hank, despite my protests, has decided that we need your help.'

Max chuckled. The disapproval on Alex's face was clear. He could just imagine the glaring that would've taken place as those two stubborn bulls battled it out.

'Well that's all very kind of Hank, but I'm rather busy at the moment so I'm going to have to decline.' Max shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

'Then I guess we have a problem because this isn't a request.'

Alex knocked on the window of the car and two armed DEO agents emerged from the back seat. Max grimaced, closing his eyes. Why today of all days?

'No, Alex, you don't understand,' Max began, but he was cut off when the two agents grabbed an arm each and marched him towards the vehicle.

'Sorry Max. Director's orders. Be a good boy and put your seatbelt on.'

* * *

Max had never been very complimentary about the DEO, but his tone was poisonous as he argued for his release on the way back to base. He struggled against his guards all the way into the command centre which made Alex raise her eyebrows curiously. She'd never seen Max so agitated before.

'Let me out of here,' Max demanded the moment he was in front of Hank.

'As much as I hate to say it,' Hank sighed, hands on his hips, 'we need your help Max. So we can't let you go just yet.'

'You don't understand.' The grin on Max's face was menacing rather than smug and it unsettled Alex a little. 'I can't be here right now.'

'You're always telling us how smart you are. Put that brain to work and you won't be here for long.' Hank tapped some keys on the computer, bringing up some read-outs on the screen. 'These graphs show interference in our satellite signals. We've been picking up some odd noise in a frequency that we can't pinpoint and it's messing with our communications. All signals in National City are being affected in some way and it seems to me that something or someone is purposely disrupting them. I'm concerned that this is just a test run.'

Max listened with frustration. Two weeks ago he would've relished the challenge of beating the DEO at its own game. The opportunity to show off itched in the back of his mind. The scene was so familiar to him that it was almost nostalgic, but things were different now. It was like watching something happen from afar even though he was right in the middle of it.

'Let me guess,' Max said impatiently, 'you can't find the signal so you want me to find it and then work out a way to stop it.'

'Yes,' Hank nodded. 'If we can-'

'I can't do it,' Max interrupted. 'I've got other things to take care of.'

Hank and Alex stared. Where was the snarky comment about how useless the DEO are? Where was the bravado and the assurance that Max would flaunt his genius and save the day?

'This isn't optional Max,' Alex began, but Max had had enough.

'You know what's not optional? Kidnapping me every time you get into trouble. You're the big secret government agency with National City's alien saviour who sure as hell didn't want my help not so long ago. So what, is Supergirl not good enough for you now?'

He spoke with controlled anger which surprised Alex. One thing that had always irritated her was that Max was so calm and collected even in the face of danger. He never looked shaken, never lost his cool. Even now he hadn't allowed himself to shout or gesture. Alex had never been able to keep her temper like that. Hit first, ask questions later.

Max turned abruptly and started making his way to the exit, but Hank ordered the guards to arrest him.

'Max, I wasn't going to do this the hard way, but if you won't cooperate then I'm afraid I'll have to.'

'Get off me!'

'Take him to the cell,' Hank sighed.

'You'll regret this!' Max called back to Hank as he was dragged off in the direction of the containment cells.

'What was that all about?' Alex wondered out loud.

'I have no idea,' Hank replied, just as stunned.

* * *

Max paced back and forth across the familiar cell. He was angry. For the first time in a long time, he hadn't done anything to land himself in here and yet here he found himself anyway. Max had played cat and mouse with Alex and the DEO for a while now. It was a game that he'd enjoyed, particularly when Alex reluctantly played along. In a lot of ways, he found himself missing their normal routine of banter, showing off and saving the day. It was simple, it catered to his ego and it was fun. And now he had a daughter to think about and pick up from school.

Piper had brought the concept of family back into his life which was something that he'd never thought would reappear. It was also something that he wasn't willing to give up, even if that meant sacrificing his role as last minute go to at the DEO.

A loud hiss startled Max from his thoughts and he looked up to see Alex enter the room. He crossed his arms as she approached the cell.

'Max, it doesn't have to go this way,' she said.

'I'm feeling difficult today,' Max answered haughtily, 'so yeah, it does.'

Alex sighed and shook her head. 'You were happy enough to help us defeat Non last month. Is this kind of thing not worthy of your attention?'

'Not at the moment, no. There are other things that are far more important.'

They glared at each other in stony silence. Max tapped his foot. He'd never lost his temper at Alex before and he didn't really want to start now, not when her attitude towards him was beginning to soften. She'd been slightly nicer to him after the battle with Non. Could he trust her to keep his secret? His heart thumped at the very thought of telling her.

'I don't know what I expected to get out of coming in here,' Alex muttered eventually and turned to go.

'Alex, wait,' Max called, but she didn't acknowledge him. 'ALEX!'

The intensity of Max's roar stopped Alex in her tracks. She looked back to find him sucking in deep breaths, his fists against the glass. That was an outburst and Maxwell Lord didn't do outbursts. Something was wrong.

'What is it?' Alex asked carefully. Max dragged a hand across his chin and looked away, biting his lip.

'Promise me you won't tell anyone. Not Hank, not Supergirl, not a soul. Promise me.' His voice was low and Alex had to step closer to the cell to hear him.

'Depends,' she countered suspiciously.

'Alex, please.' He'd never pleaded with her like this before, not even when he'd been imprisoned last time. She sighed and nodded her head in agreement. 'I can't help because I'm…I'm looking after someone already and she needs me. Her mum just died and I'm the only person she's got.'

'Go on,' Alex replied, her curiosity piked.

'Look Alex, I…I've got a daughter ok? I only found out a couple of weeks ago. Her mum died in a car crash and left her in my care and I have no freaking idea what I'm doing, but she's only nine and I know what it's like to not have any family so I took her in and now she's at school and if you don't let me out of here, I won't be there to pick her up and…and…'

The words came tumbling out and Max didn't even stop for breath until he found he couldn't say anymore. He'd started pacing again. Alex's mouth had dropped open in shock. Max had a _daughter?_ Max was a _father?_ She almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but the sincerity on his face stopped her. What a bizarre turn of events.

'You're not serious,' she breathed.

'No, I just decided to invent this whole thing to make you feel sorry for me.' He shook his head and rolled his eyes at the ceiling sarcastically. 'Of course I'm serious! It's not exactly a story that you would believe unless it was the truth!' Max waved his hands around in agitation. Alex had to agree there. It was one of those things that was so strange, it wouldn't have passed for a believable lie.

'Jesus.' Alex ran a hand through her hair. This complicated things. 'Ok, fine. I'll…I'll talk to Hank. I'll see what I can do.'

'Promise me you won't tell him.'

'Sure. I promise.'

'Thank you Alex. I mean it.'

Alex let her eyes rest on Max for a few seconds, registering how different he looked to the last time she'd seen him. He wasn't different physically. His hair was the same, his stubble still neatly shaved. His shirt was tucked in and he was business-like as ever, but something had changed and Alex guessed that it came from inside. This whole revelation had knocked her for six. It was the last thing she would ever have expected from Maxwell Lord.

She nodded once and left the chamber, desperately wondering what the hell she was going to say to Hank.

* * *

An hour passed and Max checked his watch every five minutes. If Alex didn't come back soon then he'd be late. Strangely, he was kind of glad that Alex knew. It had just been nice to share it with somebody and if it had been his choice, it always would've been Alex. Despite their history, she was the most trustworthy person he knew. Not that he could really comment on being trustworthy.

Eventually the door to the chamber hissed open again causing Max to jump to his feet. Alex strolled in with two armed guards on her heels. She tapped away at the control panel and the door to the cell opened, much to Max's relief.

Alex walked over to grab Max by the arm and whisper in his ear. 'I told Hank that you'd be willing to cooperate as long as you were allowed to work from home. I mentioned something about the media commenting on your disappearance last time we held you hostage and he agreed that that is not a situation we want to deal with again. Too many questions. It still means you have to help us.'

Max nodded gratefully. 'Of course.'

'There's one more thing,' Alex said slowly.

'There always is Agent Danvers.'

'Hank's assigned me to supervise you and report back so we know you're actually doing what we need you to do. I'm coming with you.'

'Babysit me you mean? As in come to my house and lock me in my study? While my-,' Max glanced quickly at the guards who stood impassively by the door and continued in a whisper, 'while my daughter's in the next room?'

'It's the best I could do Max,' Alex huffed impatiently. 'I won't drag your daughter into this, I promise. I'm just going to be there to report your progress back to Hank.'

Max thought it over quickly. There didn't seem to be any other options so he nodded with resignation. He followed Alex out of the containment cell block, flanked by the two guards, and out of the base altogether. Alex directed him to the passenger seat of a nondescript black SUV as she slid into the driver's seat. They started off in the direction of National City and Max couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that Alex was coming with him. He needed all the help he could get right now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Max leaned against the side of his car nonchalantly, his arms crossed. The school carpark was filled with parents chatting to each other good naturedly. He caught snippets of conversation about soccer practice, piano lessons and the relief of sending the kids off to school camp. It was all so mundane and completely unfamiliar to Max. He felt like he didn't fit in, like he wasn't supposed to be there.

The bell rang out across the yard, bringing with it the raucous noise of hundreds of children rushing outside to relish in their freedom. Boys and girls jogged up to their parents, spurting excitedly about their day. Others chased each other across the grass, kicking a ball. It was all so cheerful.

Max peered through the crush of children for Piper. After a minute or two, he spotted her and waved. She strolled over to him unhurriedly.

'Hey Piper,' Max greeted her, 'how was school?'

'It was ok,' she replied noncommittally.

Max opened the passenger door for Piper and then climbed into the driver's seat.

'Before we go,' Max began carefully, 'I have to tell you something.' He waited for a response, but Piper just looked back expectantly at him so he continued. 'A friend from work is going to be staying with us for a few days. She's helping me with something, a new invention. Is that ok?'

'What's the invention?' Piper asked immediately, making Max smile.

'It's called a frequency disruptor. It's going to stop bad radio signals from interfering with good radio signals.'

'Cool.'

Max took that to mean that Piper was accepting of the situation so he put the car into gear and drove off. He wasn't sure whether she'd totally understood his explanation of the frequency disruptor, but she'd ask questions if she wanted to know more. That he was sure of.

They pulled into the driveway 20 minutes later where Alex's black SUV was parked. Max steered Piper into the living room when they entered the house to find Alex sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. She stood up when they came in.

'Piper,' Max began nervously, trying to gauge Alex's reaction, 'this is Alex. We work together. Alex, this is my daughter, Piper.'

Alex smiled. Max's little girl was adorable and she couldn't help noticing that her eyes were exactly the same as her father's. It was still quite shocking to Alex, the idea of Max having a daughter, but seeing her here in Max's house clutching her blue backpack to her chest, it almost seemed right.

She and Max were at the age where most people had a young family and had settled down. Most people their age were not fighting aliens as their day job.

'Hi sweetie,' Alex said, crouching down to shake Piper's hand amicably. 'Did you have a good day at school?'

Piper nodded and returned Alex's smile. 'Max says you're building a frequency disruptor.'

Alex glanced up at Max in surprise, somewhat disgruntled at his lack of secrecy, but he only shrugged.

'She likes science,' he said simply.

'Can I see it when it's finished?' Piper asked hopefully.

Alex hesitated. She'd promised not to get Piper mixed up in all this, but the light in her eyes was so sharp that Alex thought not showing her would break her little heart.

'Sure Piper, we'll show you how it works.'

'Thanks!' Piper exclaimed and threw her arms around Alex's shoulders before running upstairs to her bedroom.

Max and Alex stared at each other, bewildered.

'I think she likes you,' Max said weakly. It had taken him a week to get a hug from his daughter. It had taken Alex mere minutes.

'She's great Max,' Alex replied softly, sensing he was slightly hurt. He pressed his lips together in a small smile and she wondered if he was regretting introducing them.

'Yeah, she is.' Max took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. 'I guess we should get started Agent Danvers. Don't want to keep Hank waiting for your progress report.'

He gestured for Alex to follow him down the hallway to his study, avoiding her sympathetic look. Only hours ago she'd had no problem kidnapping him against his will, but now that she knew he had a daughter Alex had softened. Family was everything to Alex. Kara and her mother meant the world to her. She'd never thought of starting her own family because her job wouldn't allow for such concessions. It was too dangerous. She knew that Max had lost his parents when he was young and she felt a strange kind of pity for him now, seeing the awkward way that he'd interacted with Piper and the desperation with which he'd begged to be reunited with her. This was a Maxwell Lord that Alex didn't know, but so far she couldn't find a reason to dislike him.

They entered his study and he cleared the desk of papers and files, creating a space to work in. Alex had brought with her the components Max needed to build the frequency disruptor and now she placed them neatly on the table top. There wasn't much for her to do whilst Max worked, since she didn't really have much of an idea about how any of it worked, so she sat down on the couch in the corner and watched him.

The first two days of their strange living arrangement passed similarly. Max would work and Alex would watch, interjecting with a question or two here and there when she started to get bored. She got him talking about Piper and managed to extract the details of how he'd wound up becoming her guardian. The origin story didn't surprise her, but she didn't feel any scorn towards him. She couldn't, not when she saw the way he let her help cook dinner in the evenings, or the way he patiently answered all of her questions about his new "invention".

Max was just glad that Piper seemed happier. She appeared to like Alex a great deal. Each day when Max picked her up from school, she'd tell him what they'd done that day, but then she'd tell it to Alex all over again in slightly more detail. Alex couldn't help but be amused. She thought that Piper was a really sweet kid and she could see that she loved her father already, even if Max didn't realise it yet.

On the fourth night, after Piper had gone to bed, Max returned to the couch with a tired sigh. He unconsciously sat down a little closer to Alex than he normally would have, turning his head to look at her. It was a strangely domestic scene.

'I've helped fight aliens,' he muttered, 'but this is harder.'

'You're doing fine Max,' Alex murmured back with a reassuring smile.

'I don't know what I'm doing Alex. I go through every day just hoping that she's not going to break apart again. I don't even know who to be anymore.'

Alex reached for Max's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. 'She just wants you to be her father, someone that loves her, and that's the Max I've seen these past few days. This Max isn't so bad, you know.'

Max raised an eyebrow. 'I'm sorry, could you say that again please? Could I get it in writing? Agent Danvers giving me a compliment!' He threw his head back in mock astonishment.

Alex just tutted and rolled her eyes with an amused smile. 'She loves you Max.'

'How do you know that?' He asked, suddenly serious again.

'Because,' she smirked, 'she spent nearly an hour telling me about what you do at Lord Technologies last night even though we told her that we work together.'

A smile crept onto Max's face as he felt his heart swell. Maybe he wasn't doing as bad a job as he thought he was. He glanced down at his hand where Alex's fingers still lay over his. Things had certainly been easier since Alex had come here.

'You're going soft, Agent Danvers,' he murmured.

'Says Mr. Nostalgic-for-the Cold-War.'

Max laughed. A minute or so passed in silence as they contemplated their bizarre lives. Max's thoughts drifted to the frequency disruptor and he voiced his thoughts out loud.

'I'll be able to finish the machine tomorrow.'

'Hank will be happy,' Alex replied. 'He's wasn't impressed when we left.'

'Piper won't be happy.'

'I thought she was excited to see it?' Alex shifted so that she turned inwards to face Max on the couch, her elbow propped against the top, her hand on the back of her head. It was a subtle shift, but it was a comfortableness that she hadn't offered Max before.

'She is, but she won't be excited when you leave.'

Alex bit her lip and looked away. She hadn't thought of the effect that her presence here would have on Piper. Perhaps becoming so friendly with her hadn't been such a good idea.

'I can come over to visit every now and then if she gets upset,' Alex relented.

Max nodded. 'She'd like that.'

Alex didn't know why, but there was suddenly tension between them. It wasn't a negative tension, but there was something unspoken in the way she hadn't lifted her hand away from his.

'And Max,' she began hesitantly, 'I can come over if you need me. If you need help, I mean.'

Max looked up at her in surprise. Something inside his chest burst and it was like he could breathe properly for the first time in two weeks. He wasn't alone.

'Thank you, Alex,' he said sincerely, gripping her hand.


	6. Chapter 6

**NB: For those who have posted reviews - I still get them in my email notifications so thank you for your comments (seerow and darkjewelledassassin, your last ones made me laugh, thank you!) but they aren't showing up for some reason. I've contacted support so we'll see what happens. As for the story, I was thinking of leaving it here rather than run with something that might be a bit flimsy, but let me know what you think. Thank you again for following along!**

 **Chapter 6**

The next morning arrived far too quickly for Max's liking. He took his time, but he still managed to finish the frequency disruptor in just two hours. He and Alex had shown it to Piper who had immediately wanted to try it out. She was disappointed when Max said she wasn't allowed to use it, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout that had always worked on her mother. Max and Alex weren't as susceptible to the puppy dog eyes however, so the machine was packed away without being turned on.

The three unlikely companions gathered in the living room just after eleven o'clock so that Max could explain to Piper that Alex had to leave. This was what he'd been dreading. Piper's face remained inscrutable throughout their talk.

'Listen Piper,' Max began heavily, 'now that we've finished building the frequency disruptor, Alex has to go back to work. She won't be staying with us anymore.'

'I'll come and visit,' Alex said hurriedly when Piper looked down at her shoes.

'Aren't you going to stay for lunch?' Piper asked without looking up.

'I'm sorry Pip, but I have to get Max's new invention back. It's going to help a lot of people you know.'

'Can't you go to work and then come back for dinner?' She pleaded.

Piper loved it when Alex called her Pip and it only made her that much more determined to convince Alex to stay. Even though she'd never had a father before, this week had made Piper feel like she had a family again. She felt safe and reasonably happy. Her heart still ached terribly when she thought of her mother, but having Max and Alex around was enough.

Alex looked up at Max helplessly, unsure of what to say. He just shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Where was the harm in one last meal together?

'Alright,' Alex relented, forcing a smile onto her face. 'I'll come back for dinner.'

'Yes!' Piper cried, practically tackling Alex in an enthusiastic hug. Max was just starting to feel a little jealous when Piper let go of Alex, turned and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He hugged her fiercely to him, locking eyes with Alex. They shared a sobering look that cemented Alex's opinion of Maxwell Lord. He was a new man. Piper's appearance in his life had brought out a love in him that Alex hadn't thought he was capable of. She supposed it just goes to show that you don't really know anyone until you've seen them at their most vulnerable.

She contemplated the strange family dynamic all the way back to the DEO. It struck her that Hank and Kara still had no idea of the truth. It wasn't her place to say anything so she began fabricating stories about her extended stay at the Lord household. They were received without much suspicion as Hank was just happy that Max had complied and had finished building the frequency disruptor so quickly. There had been a communications jam yesterday that had most definitely been a deliberate act of sabotage so he was chomping at the bit to stop whatever villainous plot was at work.

Alex couldn't help but think about how far removed the ongoing altercations with the Fort Rozz prisoners were from watching Max make pancakes. Having a family was a completely different world, one that she hadn't thought she'd needed, but after sort of being part of one for the last week there was a hollow feeling inside of her that made her wonder if she was missing something.

They weren't thoughts that she wanted to dwell on so she pushed them aside and became Agent Danvers again, directing the troops at the DEO as they worked to uncover the location of the signal. After six hours of searching, planning and preparing, Hank sent out a tactical team to investigate. Alex wasn't required for the mission as Hank had determined it to be non-threatening – a.k.a. not alien – so she requested the night off. With permission granted, she made her way back to Max's house.

* * *

Piper opened the front door after three knocks and pulled on Alex's hand, leading her towards the kitchen. The hallway was filled with the wonderful smells of cooking that made Alex's stomach rumble. Piper giggled at the noise.

'Max is making pasta,' she informed Alex happily.

They entered the kitchen to find Max working away at the stove, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up past his elbows. Piper jumped up onto a seat at the counter and Alex followed suit.

'Just in time Agent…I mean, Alex.'

Alex raised an eyebrow at Max's slip. Old habits die hard.

'Whatever that is, it smells delicious,' Alex said without missing a beat.

'Yeah well, I guess I still haven't found something I'm not good at.' He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, but Piper laughed. Some things would never change.

'Did the frequency disruptor work?' Piper interjected.

'It did,' Alex replied cautiously. 'It stopped all the bad signals and now we know where they were coming from.'

'Where?'

Alex almost sighed in exasperation. She was trying to subtly let Max know where the mission stood, but Piper's unquenchable curiosity was making it difficult.

'Just some old building in the city. We sent an electrician over to fix it.'

Piper seemed satisfied with that answer and Max jumped in before she could ask any more questions.

'Could you set the table please Piper?' He asked. She nodded enthusiastically and went about her job. Max left the boiling pot on the stove to sidle closer to Alex. 'What are we really up against here?' He murmured.

'Not alien,' Alex whispered back. 'Tac team should have it under control.'

Max nodded shortly, slightly relieved that they didn't have to deal with another alien threat right now. With an unspoken agreement to talk more about it later, dinner was served alongside cheerful chatter about Piper's new toy. Max had bought her a telescope.

'You can see so many stars!' She exclaimed past a mouthful of pasta. 'And Max said he'd show me which ones are planets.'

'That's great,' Alex smiled.

'You know there used to be nine planets?' Piper continued. 'But then they decided that Pluto was too small to be a planet so now there's only eight.'

'Poor Pluto!' Alex exclaimed, catching Max's grin at her moment of silliness.

'Max?' Piper asked. 'If Pluto's not a planet, what is it now?'

'It's called a dwarf planet,' Max replied, trying not to laugh. 'So instead of being with the big, major planets like Earth and Mars, now it's part of a different group of little planets that aren't as important.'

'Oh.'

And that was the end of the cosmology discussion for the evening. Piper showed Alex her telescope after dinner, insisting that she look through it to find the moon. Her nightly ritual of a movie before bed continued when Max brought Netflix up for her in the main living room. By now, Piper was an expert at using Netflix so he left her to own devices and showed Alex into his smaller living area.

'So,' Max began as he collapsed onto the two-seater couch, 'if the signals weren't coming from an alien source, what did Hank think they were?'

'They were coming from that television station that shut down last month,' Alex explained, tucking her legs underneath her. 'Hank thinks it's probably just the old employees trying to get back at the other stations since both CatCo and KPJT had outages over the last two days.'

'I bet Hank's bored. No aliens? What's the point?' He threw up his hands jokingly.

'Preventing another mess, that's the point,' Alex chided, shooting Max a serious look.

They were forced to sit a lot closer together on this couch because of its size compared to the one in the main living room. Alex's knees were basically resting on Max's thigh, his shoulder barely a hand's length away from hers.

'Mess isn't always bad,' he murmured.

Alex was about to retort when she realised he wasn't talking about the DEO anymore. He had a faraway look in his eyes that made him look younger all of a sudden. Calmer.

'Max?' Alex said softly. He turned his face back towards her. 'I'm glad I got to meet Piper.'

'I didn't know you were so good with kids, Agent Danvers,' Max smiled.

'I could say the same about you.'

The room was dimly lit by two lamps on the mantelpiece. The faint noise of the television floated in from the door behind the couch, but other than that there was nothing but comfortable, cosy silence.

Max had an odd thought, fought with it and then decided to act on it anyway. He shuffled to the side, leaning towards Alex. She watched him carefully as he rested a hand on the side of her leg and inched his face closer to hers. Every instinct screamed for her to move away and she very nearly said, _'What are you doing?'_ But she didn't. In the moments before Max closed the distance completely, Alex pictured him in the kitchen making pancakes and smiling at his daughter. It was a bizarre thing to have jumped into her head, but that image made up her mind. She didn't move away.

Max kissed her lightly, her lips parting from the gentle pressure. His heart fluttered at the sensation of her fingers intertwining themselves with his. The kiss was slow and long and just when he was about to pull away and touch his forehead against Alex's, she kissed him again, drawing his mouth back to hers.

He let out a deep, contented sigh when they broke apart. The walls that he'd spent years building up were gone. Alex breathed in and out slowly contemplating what she'd just allowed to happen. When Hank had assigned her to fetch Max a week ago she'd expected days of egotistical remarks and low key flirting that she really didn't want. Instead she'd spent a week with a caring, out-of-his-depth Max that needed her. There was a part of her that liked being needed in a way that didn't involve gun toting and interrogation.

'I don't suppose you'd consider staying another night?' Max murmured.

'You think Piper's not ready?' She whispered back.

'I wasn't asking for her.'

The smallest of smiles twitched at the corners of Alex's lips as she tilted Max's chin with a finger and kissed him gently.

'You better not snore,' she muttered in his ear before rising from the couch and stalking away to watch the end of the movie with Piper.

Max watched her go with a pounding heart. When he finally managed to follow her, he found Piper cuddled up to Alex on the couch watching Big Hero 6. It was a sight that he could most definitely get used to.


End file.
